“What do you mean you ‘haven’t found a bride’?” Queen Nari asked in a measured voice; she had just arrived from a long journey, but as soon as she was informed that no bride had been found, she decided to talk to her son instead of resting as had been her plan.

Eunhyuk sighed at his mother’s words, “Just what I said. I haven’t found a bride and I don’t want to.” 

He really could not imagine something more annoying right now than to have to take care of a whiny, half-royal girl who knew nothing about him and just wanted him for the position of being queen. 

“Lord Yesung said that you have spent the time you should have been using to search for a bride in the garden with a traitor! What were you thinking, Eunhyuk? Don’t you care for this country?!” the queen spat, fury showing in her face.

“Yes, I do care for this cou- What do you mean by ‘a traitor’?” Eunhyuk almost yelled in outrage; he had suddenly realised what his mother had said about Mulgogi and he didn’t like it. There was nothing treacherous about the boy and by this time he valued the mute male more than even Siwon. 

“You don’t know? I would have thought you had figured out by now,” the queen scoffed condescendingly, before she spat, “That gardener is the boy you used to play with. His father tried to kill your father and yet you still spend time with him? I’m sorry he lost his voice rather than his life that day!” 

Eunhyuk felt a shiver run down his spine, feeling as though his mother had just drenched him in ice cold water. Mulgogi was Donghae? He suddenly felt anger flare up inside him. He had spent so much time with Mulgogi and yet he had never said anything. He turned around and ran out of the room, ignoring his mother’s calls for him to come back. He headed to the garden, not paying any head to the yells from behind when he ran down the stairs by himself for the first time in his life. He was absolutely furious. He ran through the park, searching for a certain gardener, and when he found him he stalked right up to him. The boy looked up with a smile on his face only to find a fuming Eunhyuk beside him. He started shaking, feeling fear overtake his body as he looked into the angry eyes of the crowned prince.

“I want to tell you something,” Eunhyuk spoke in a deadly voice, and whimper left the boy’s lips at the other’s tone, “When I was a boy, I was miserable. I met a boy who came to mean the world to me and I thought I meant the world to him. One day the palace was attacked and a man charged at me. The boy threw himself in front of me and got speared with the sword. When I hit my head I passed out and when I woke up again, my father told me the boy was dead.” 

The prince was seething by now, taking notice on how the boy’s eyes widened in fear but unable to stop his anger from rising.

“Lee Donghae, you lied to me!” Eunhyuk then yelled, about ready to hit something out of pure outrage, and Donghae’s eyes widened even more and he looked absolutely terrified. 
 

“Why didn’t you tell me it was you?!” the prince continued to scream, not caring one bit that he was acting very unroyal at the moment, “You let me believe that I was the reason for your death! You deceived me! I hate you!”
 

After yelling out those words, Eunhyuk turned away to leave the now crying boy behind. Just as he was about to break into a run however, he heard it. A small whimper. 
“Hyukkie.”

He whipped around, looking at the sobbing Donghae with wide eyes as the other continued to cry. 
“Hyukkie,” Donghae choked out in between his sobs, his voice raw from years of not being used, and Eunhyuk could not believe his own ears; he then turned around completely and stepped closer as Donghae choked on his one words, “Hyuk…”

“Donghae, you are talking. Oh my God, you are talking again,” Eunhyuk whispered, stepping closer to the sobbing, shaking young man. When he reached the other, he pulled him into his arms once again. 

“Don’t cry, Donghae, please don’t cry. I don’t hate you. I’m sorry,” Eunhyuk whispered into the brown mop of hair, and Donghae merely kept hiccupping the prince’s name against the other’s chest as he kept crying. 
 

“Shh, I’m right here. I’m sorry I said that, I was just angry,” Eunhyuk murmured, his hand the quivering male’s back, and Donghae nodded slightly at his words; after a few moments, Eunhyuk pulled away from the embrace and looked into the other’s tear brimmed eyes. 

“Say it again,” he pleaded softly, “Say my name.” 
 

Donghae looked frightened at that request, looking as though Eunhyuk had just asked him to grow a pair of wings.
 

“I know you can do it, Hae,” Eunhyuk spoke softly with an encouraging smile.

“Hyukkie,” Donghae said softly and Eunhyuk felt tears gather in his eyes from happiness as he brought the man into a tight hug again. 

“I am sorry, Hae. I love you so much,” Eunhyuk murmured, not caring about anything but the boy in his arms right now. 

“I-I love you t-too,” Donghae stuttered against his chest, and Eunhyuk felt happier than he ever had. 

“Oh, how touching,” said a female voice sarcastically, and Eunhyuk turned to find his mother and a group of guards watching the scene. Immediately, Eunhyuk stepped in front of Donghae, taking up a protective stand as he narrowed his eyes on his mother figure. 

“I don’t need you here, mother,” he spat the last word with so much venom that he almost felt his tongue burn; he was angry, even beyond seething, at the woman who was supposed to be his mother. 

“Guards, take the boy to the prison,” the queen ordered lazily with a wave of her hand. 

“No!” Eunhyuk screamed as the guards started towards them, and they stopped, honestly confused about which order to follow while Eunhyuk continued to scream in outrage, “You won’t take him away from me again!”

“What are you imagining, Eunhyuk? That you can marry him? You have to find a bride!” his mother spoke in a strained voice as the guards closed in on Eunhyuk and Donghae. She really had had enough of her son’s antics.

“I won’t!” the prince spat angrily, “I don’t care what you do, I won’t give him up! If you take him, I swear I will kill myself. If you take away my title, fine, then I can finally do what I want for once and be with the man I love!” 

His mother looked positively scandalised at her son’s words but the determination didn’t disappear from her face and she made another flick with her slim wrist. The guards grabbed Donghae and even though Eunhyuk tried to free him from their hold with all his might, he soon felt another guard grab him and pull him away. 

“DONGHAE!” Eunhyuk screamed as he saw the man he loved being dragged away; Donghae tried to fight the two guards holding him but it was to no avail, and he then looked back at Eunhyuk with eyes filled with sadness before he was dragged out of sight. 

“DONGHAE!” Eunhyuk screamed again, fighting against the three men that were now holding him, blinded by tears, rage, and terror; he knew that his mother was a ruthless woman, and that she would have no problem giving the order for Donghae to be executed if she felt the need to do so. 

Queen Na